Rep. Engel Helps Pass Resolution to Protect Medicaid From Trump Administration

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, issued the following news release:

Congressman Eliot L. Engel this week helped pass a resolution, which he cosponsored, condemning the Trump Administration's efforts to block grant Medicaid, a proposal that would eliminate critical health benefits and services for working families.

"Medicaid block grants are illegal: plain and simple," said Rep. Engel. "The fundamental structure of Medicaid cannot be changed without Congressional action. Republicans in Congress tried and failed to implement block grants in 2017 as part of their effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and President Trump is trying to swoop in now and unilaterally implement this awful policy. The reality is that they are using block grants as a backhanded way to eliminate health coverage for working families. We can't let this happen."

Medicaid covers nearly 2 in 9 adults (ages 19-64) and every 2 in 5 children in New York. On January 30, 2020 the Trump Administration took the unprecedented step of allowing states to block grant Medicaid using waiver authority. Medicaid block grants would cap the amount of federal dollars states receive to pay for health care for working families, leading to cuts in services and benefits. Furthermore, current law does not permit the Administration to make such changes without Congressional approval. The resolution passed by the House today, H.Res.826, expresses its formal disapproval of this misguided policy.

Ahead of the Administration's announcement, Congressman Engel joined more than 30 of his House colleagues on a letter on January 29, 2020 arguing the President's actions were illegal. He is also a cosponsor of the resolution, H.Res.826, which passed the House today. In 2017, Congressman Engel helped defeat the Graham-Cassidy proposal which would have repealed the Affordable Care Act's expansion by block granting Medicaid.